A generous donation to Labour

34 comments on “A generous donation to Labour ”

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1. roy cartland 1

   31 May 2017 at 11:47 am

   Now there’s a GC.
2. Craig H 2

   31 May 2017 at 11:59 am

   My reading of the Bible certainly agrees with that. I’ve also noticed a lot of active church-going members (and a few ministers) at our LEC.
3. David Mac 3

   31 May 2017 at 12:09 pm

   Yep, Jesus was a socialist.

   Onya Bob.
   • mac1 3.1

     31 May 2017 at 9:06 pm

     This came up on my Facebook today, from the Marginal Mennonite group, who pay respects to peaceful men and women by honouring their good works.

     “Rabbi Jesus In A Nutshell: The Sermon on the Mount in 26 words:
     “Be generous. Be merciful. Be compassionate. Love unconditionally, like God does. Forgive, because you’re forgiven. Don’t kill. Don’t fret. Don’t judge. Don’t be attached to things.””

     From what I’m reading in the comments on this post Judge Bob might have heard of some of teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, at least.

     Putting into action such teaching, as Michael Joseph Savage said socialism is, needs and deserves some respect.
4. Draco T Bastard 4

   31 May 2017 at 12:26 pm

   I am not myself of a religious persuasion, but I must admit that the combination of “christianity” and right-wing political beliefs does puzzle me.

   As far as I can make out it’s nothing but camouflage. Essentially they’re saying See, I’m religious and Christian and therefore I’m Good and so you shouldn’t attack me for my greed, hubris and other anti-social actions.
   • ianmac 4.1

     31 May 2017 at 12:37 pm

     The deeply religious PM has a strange way of showing Christian principles. Almost as though his actions contradict his faith. Still he can go to confession to dispose of his doubts.
     • WILD KATIPO 4.1.1

       31 May 2017 at 7:36 pm

       Why are you puzzled about this at all ?

       Have you not ever heard of Jesuits?.. or does the image bring up men in long red gowns, with beards and kneeling piously in prayer in great ornately carved sculptured cathedrals ?

       Far from it !

       Modern day Jesuits drive round in expensive cars, wear expensive suits and are found all throughout the major western govts , – Washington is loaded with them and NZ would have its fair share as well.

       And the Jesuit order is certainly NOT dedicated to the benevolent and altruistic spread of some docile pacifist belief system. They have one aim and one aim only.And even in the true Catholic Church they are regarded as subversives and anti Christ moles. However due to Freemasonry , extreme wealth and their historic presence they are now accepted as an unfortunate part of it. So much so , – that this latest Pope – is a Jesuit !!!!

       And Jesuits are NOT Christians.

       And do you know where the Jesuit order came from ?

       The Knights Templars – when they were disbanded in 1307.

       And do you think for one minute the Knights Templars were ‘ Christians’ ?

       L0L!

       They were Gnostics !!!!

       A religion condemned by the early church as heretics and traced back to the Essenes – who were in turn Gnostic . And how did the Gnostics infiltrate the Roman Catholic church ?- well , they did so when Constantine adopted both pagan and Christian beliefs to appease their Germanic tribal overlords who had by then sacked Rome several times and had gained influence in Romes governance.

       And where did the Essenes derive their beliefs from ?

       The ancient mystery religions of Babylon ,the same as practiced by the Assyrians , Egyptians and Sumerians and was a pantheistic and sun worshiping religion – the same sun worship as the Nazis practiced aka the ‘ Black Sun’ – which was based on the Antediluvian period , and later revised by Nimrod at the tower of Babel.

       And this ‘ Mystery Religion ‘ is one and the same that the Freemasons practice. In fact the Freemasons trace their roots right back to the two pillars of Boaz and Jachin. So back to the Jesuits – the Roman Catholic Jesuits – and you ask ‘ whats their game’ ? Well , their game is the same as the Freemasons , the same as the Rosicrucians , the same as the Nazis ( Aryeotheoology -which was a direct offshoot of Theosophy – aka Madame Helena Blavatsky ).

       An anti Christian , anti Judaic , anti Muslim , anti monotheistic , 10 nation trading bloc , centralized One World Government , – with a religious wing that unites all of the religions of the world under this ancient Babylonic mystery religion.

       Right ! – you got all of that ? – I hope so.

       I’m off to have a cup of tea.
       • Paul Campbell 4.1.1.1

         31 May 2017 at 7:57 pm

         bah humbug, it’s still all pie in the sky when you die, doesn’t really matter who’s pie
         • WILD KATIPO 4.1.1.1.1

           31 May 2017 at 8:06 pm

           Call it what you will , but that doesn’t change the fact that this is the historical ‘ religious’ record of western belief systems – and that certainly doesn’t change history and it doesn’t change the motivations of these people.

           And btw – have you died and came back recently to tell us what is and isn’t fact?
       • Whispering Kate 4.1.1.2

         31 May 2017 at 8:49 pm

         Wow Wild Katipo – spot on with the Jesuits – my only memory of them was in the 1960’s and I had the opportunity to hear a Jesuit preaching to a Roman Catholic congregation – my other half was Catholic and I was at church with him. This Jesuit was on what they called a teaching circuit and man alive was he teaching alright. He scared the bejusus out of me with the sins of birth control and the fire and brimstone that went with sinning and using anything which would control and limit a family. They are as mad as a hatter and totally dedicated to the point of obsession. I don’t want to go back there anytime soon.
         • WILD KATIPO 4.1.1.2.1

           1 June 2017 at 4:40 am

           Cheers mate.

           Edit : ‘ 10 nation trading bloc ‘

           Meant to read , – 10 interdependent trading blocs, divided up into different country’s and regions around the world using free trade agreements. IE : Nafta, TTPA , TISA etc etc.

           Interestingly NZ was designated in with Israel and Brazil of all places in one version , it was a while back and I cant recall which treaty it was . So it wont be done by using brute military force , – they tried that before both with Napoleon and later on Hitler , so now its going to be far more ‘acceptable’ , fluid and adaptable using international trade agreements etc.

           That’s how they’re going to do it.
   • Matthew Whitehead 4.2

     1 June 2017 at 4:33 pm

     I think it’s easier to understand once you start thinking about whether they’re conservatives or liberals. For the liberals, it’s probably spot on. Christianity is part of how they justify their liberal social beliefs and reassure themselves that their right-wing economic beliefs still leave them room to be “good,” even though a lot of the doctrines call for worldly acts of charity and kindness that are inconsistent with a right-wing ideology.

     But churches have wielded a lot of social power over the years, so naturally conservatives saw them as an authority and a purveyor of traditional wisdom, so it’s completely understandable that right-wing conservative congregations spewing hatred, or preaching Just World Theory, or whatever, have formed. A lot of the worst religious types are the right-wing conservatives who’ve caught religion, and that explains many right-wingers believing in what are nominally quite socialist texts.
5. Ad 5

   31 May 2017 at 12:30 pm

   A great signal to the remaining haute-bourgeoisie to open up the accounts and shunt this lot out.

   Redlogix, I’ve given the Labour bundlers your home address. 😉
   • RedLogix 5.1

     31 May 2017 at 12:47 pm

     Hey I’m upper middle trailer trash. (Sighs, how many political parties can one man support?)
6. ianmac 6

   31 May 2017 at 12:40 pm

   Yep. Good on yer Robert Smellie. I guess as a Judge he saw the hash reality of the underfunded underpaid strugglers waiting in vain for a trickle down, to trickle down and stop the trickle up.
   • garibaldi 6.1

     31 May 2017 at 1:25 pm

     Whoops ,a bit of a slip up there with the “hash reality’! No doubt he has seen a lot of hash reality.
     • ianmac 6.1.1

       31 May 2017 at 2:38 pm

       Yep. I made a harsh hash of that Gari.
7. mickysavage 7

   31 May 2017 at 1:49 pm

   I appeared before him a few times before he retired. He was always a very dedicated pleasant Judge keen to ensure that justice occurred.
   • WILD KATIPO 7.1

     31 May 2017 at 8:03 pm

     The fact is, this Mr Robert Smellie is a wise man – and he would have seen the direct fall out of neo liberalism time and again in his profession . And being the wise man that he is , – saw the value system of today’s Labour compared with today’s National and concluded Labour is the closest to his belief system.

     Good on the man.
   • Enough is Enough 7.2

     31 May 2017 at 9:10 pm

     Greg, what do you think about his support of Labour being based somewhat on the contents of the bible?

     I personally agree with. Just curious as to your take on it
   • North 7.3

     1 June 2017 at 8:33 am

     Over three decades ago (before the decline explained by the narrative below) I had a carpark in the Auckland CBD. Next to one labelled “R. Smellie QC”.

     One mid-week evening after convivial drinks in the city I preferred to put the seat back and have a sobering nap before very probably breaking the law by immediately driving home. Humiliation and shame hours later at 7.00 am when woken by a loud door-slamming noise I was propelled upwards by my spring loaded driver seat…….into the view of a distinguished looking gentleman peering somewhat disapprovingly at the startled, dishevelled, head-a-throb, ‘smelly’ (nay stinking) occupant of my own vehicle.

     Onya’ Sir Robert Smellie QC ! Not the money so much as the bold expression as to why.
8. Whispering Kate 8

   31 May 2017 at 2:23 pm

   A very generous gesture indeed and how comforting to know that amongst all the sea of greed and me, me, me society we live in that somebody who is financially able is coming to the aid of Labour for the election. Hopefully there may be more in the coming weeks who are seeing through this disgusting Government and its policies. Thank you Robert Smellie Q.C.
   • Louis 8.1

     31 May 2017 at 2:58 pm

     I dont have much money, but what I can spare every now and again I donate to the Labour party because as I see it changing from the National government is an investment in the future of our people and my country as a whole.
     • r0b 8.1.1

       31 May 2017 at 3:03 pm

       Thank you Louis!
     • Anne 8.1.2

       31 May 2017 at 5:41 pm

       Yep Louis. There’s quite a few thousand of us who do the same and for the same reason. We only wish we could donate more. All hail to Robert Smellie and here’s hoping others of his standing will do the same.
       • ianmac 8.1.2.1

         31 May 2017 at 8:16 pm

         Me too. Obama managed with a huge number of little people each contributing a little bit. So…
9. Richard McGrath 9

   31 May 2017 at 9:04 pm

   If he’s a socialist, why didn’t he donate his money into the government coffers rather than to a political party? Does he not believe the government – not he – should decide how to spend his money? Instead he sent the money in a direction of his own choosing – what a selfish individualist!
   • McFlock 9.1

     31 May 2017 at 9:11 pm

     Oh, I’m sure he pays his taxes, too.
   • North 9.2

     1 June 2017 at 8:48 am

     What a sour-puss you are McGrath !

     The answer may be that given the recent performance of National Party MP and junior minister Alfred Ngongo, viz. the levelling of de-funding threats at social agencies who dare to criticise, the honourable former judge suspects that funds donated to ‘the government’ will be misapplied (effectively) to advancing the political fortunes of hubristic, authoritarian Christian Ngongo and the National Party.

     Trumpishly selfish of you to suggest selfishness in him.
   • Matthew Whitehead 9.3

     1 June 2017 at 4:36 pm

     because he believes that the country needs to be more socialist, rather than simply wanting more spending?

     Besides, I don’t know if IRD is even allowed to take donations. The closest I do is not declaring charitable giving.
10. Anthony Rimell 10

    31 May 2017 at 10:45 pm

    Well done that man. And kudos to ‘The Standard’ for honouring this gesture. As you noted, you don’t have to share his beliefs to appreciate his actions (for the record, I do share his beliefs).

    The more we focus on what we of the left agree on, rather than tearing each other apart for where we may disagree, the more we are clearly ready to change the Government.
11. Heather Grimwood 11

    31 May 2017 at 11:02 pm

    Just seen this column. I have these quick comments.
    * the first Labour government had Christian socialist and Catholic members , many of whom made statements and certainly showed action akin to that of the Golden Rule of the New Testament. That government was certainly not driven by greed, but by the plight of the many.
    At that time, NZ was predominately a Christian country of course.
    We now embrace, and govern for diverse religions.
    Many religions emphasise caring for lives of fellow humans, some including lives of all living things,animate and inanimate.
    *to Anthony: my long experience is that altruistic/non-petty/caring/global personalities abide alongside those who aregreedy/punitive/controlling/domineering in all denominations….a cross-section of society.
    I write this in acknowledgement of the wonderful gift from Judge Robert Smellie to the Labour Party, a gift which reinforces the goals of that first Labour Party and that of the present, any of whose members I know have the same goal of care.
    • r0b 11.1

      1 June 2017 at 11:06 am

      Thanks Heather…
12. Mrs Brillo 12

    1 June 2017 at 12:25 pm

    Judge Smellie for GG. After a decent interval, of course.

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